Black Falcons
The Black Falcons were an early faction of LEGO's Castle theme. Neither the name for their faction nor the faction itself is official; the name comes from the set 6074 Black Falcon's Fortress. Sets including the Black Falcons first appeared in 1984. The last regular appearance was in 1992. In Canada and Australia, they were known as the Eagle Crests.Classic-castle.com A US catalog from 1989 makes reference to the "Forestmen", "Black Knights", and "Guardians of the Gray Castles". At the time, no Crusaders castles were being made, but Black Falcon's Fortress was, suggesting that the faction should be called "Guardians" and the Black Falcon was a character (like the Black Monarch) who led them. An assumably high ranking Black Falcon knight appears in a [[10223 Joust|'Kingdoms' set]] in 2012, as an opponent of the Lion Knights. This may suggest that Black falcons existed in the same timeframe as the Kingdoms line. History The Black Falcons were introduced together with the Crusaders in 1984 when LEGO relaunched their Castle theme after the discontinuation of the first knights faction that started in 1978. One of the first sets of the Falcons included a castle (6073 Knight's Castle), which was considerably smaller than its counterpart from the Crusaders (6080 King's Castle). This initial difference in strength was never overcome as the Black Falcons always had fewer releases than the Crusaders. 1986 saw the release of 6074 Black Falcon's Fortress, which is still considered one of the most elegant castles ever released. It was later reissued as part of LEGO's Legends line. The fortress was also the last new building of the Black Falcons and marked the beginning of the steady decline of this faction which then merely appeared as side characters in sets of other factions. The last two Black Falcon soldiers were included in 6057 Sea Serpent from 1992, a set of the Black Knights, that still appeared in catalogs from 1994. Thus, the Black Falcons can be considered the longest-lived (eight years) faction of the Castle theme. In 2005, two Black Falcon shields were included in one of the Harry Potter sets, 4768 The Durmstrang Ship, and although unconfirmed by LEGO in 2012, a Black Falcon Knight appears in the set Kingdoms set 10223 Kingdoms Joust. Details Soldiers of the Black Falcons were quite strictly uniformed. Most of them had black helmets, legs and arms and a blue torso piece adorned with their crest, a black/white falcon on inverted background. Knights usually wore a fixed-face grill helmet and a breastplate torso piece in either blue or black. They owned two castles in total, as well as a small wall segment with a tower that was under siege by the Crusaders in 6062 Battering Ram. The Falcon's complement of siege engines was rather small, comprising only two catapults from 6030 Catapult and 6059 Knight's Stronghold. There was also a small cart (6011 Black Knight's Treasure) and a small boat (6018 Battle Dragon). Sets ;Minor appearances *10223 Kingdoms Joust (2012), redesigned slightly and unconfirmed by The LEGO Group * 6041 Armor Shop (1986), contains a Black Falcons shield * 6067 Guarded Inn (1986), contains a Black Falcons shield * 4768 The Durmstrang Ship (2005), contains two Black Falcon shields ;Accessories * 6102 Castle Mini Figures (1985), contains three Black Falcons soldiers * 6103 Castle Mini-Figures (1988), contains two Black Falcons soldiers * 6103 Knights (1984, Samsonite Promotional), contains a knight and a soldier * KC110 Black Falcon Key Chain (1984) * KC20 Black Falcon Key Chain (Unknown) * 4222211 Computer Disc - Black Falcons (2003), a short movie retelling the story of the Black Falcons * 4229617 Memo Pad Minifig - (I) Black Falcon (2003) Minifigures References See also * Crusaders Category:Castle Category:Black Falcons Category:Themes Category:Themes introduced in 1984 Category:Discontinued Themes Category:Castle Factions